2002 Professional Winner

I was born in the south of Germany on 3/3/1966. My mother is a pharmacist and my father a mechanic. I grew up in the countryside. After my father died in 1981, we moved to a small town in the area of Stuttgart.

In 1986, I finished my high school (Gymnasium). My main interests were art, history and politics, especially of the Middle East and Israel. Since I read a book about the political conflict at the age of thirteen, I have been fascinated by the problems in this region.

In 1985 I bought an enlarger and took some pictures with a Minox camera, which my uncle had given me as a present. So I came to photography. My interest in politics and particularly, the politics of the Middle East combined with my interests in photography logically led to the pursuit of photojournalism.

In 1987, I did my national service. In 1988, I got some practical experience with various photographers. During 1988/89, I did two stories -- one about Jewish cemeteries and another about concentration camps in Germany.

In spring 1989, I traveled for the first time to Jerusalem and the occupied territories to work on a portfolio for application to German universities. Later that year I applied for a university place in photography in Essen. My application was successful and I stayed there until the autumn of 1991.

In 1990, I went to the Westbank and Jerusalem for two months. This time I focused on religious aspects, the problems of occupation and the daily life in the holy city. In 1991, I completed my work about Jerusalem and made an extensive report about the arrival of Russian immigrants. Moreover, I visited Gaza for the first time. Overall, this trip lasted three months.

From October 1991 to June 1992, I lived in Damascus to learn the Arabic language at the Arabic Teaching Institute for Foreigners. (I had completed two crash-courses in Arabic before).

During my previous visits to the Middle East, I had realized that I needed to speak the language of the people if I wanted to report about the affairs of this region. This stay also allowed me to experience the particular culture in a more intensive and direct way.

In March 1993, I went by motorbike to Italy and took a ship to Israel. I stayed two months in Gaza taking pictures, then I drove once more to Damascus to improve my Arabic and returned to Gaza in October, 1993. There, I rented a flat and stayed until June 1994 taking pictures related to the changes, which the autonomy agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians brought about. During this period, I also spent two weeks in Lebanon and made a reportage about Beirut.

In May, 1995 I won the international Prize for Young Fotojournalists of Agfa and Bilderberg. In October I graduated with a first class degree in communication design from Essen University. Two weeks later, I was selected for and participated in the World Press Photo Masterclass 1995 in Amsterdam.

In January, 1996 I was one of the winners of the German Photoprize 1995. In April 1996 I was one of the five winners for the best Fotodesign degree in 1995 in Germany which is sponsored by the BFF (Federation of Freeworking Fotodesigners).

From May to September, 1996 parts of my work were shown at the exhibition "The German eye -- photojournalism from 1928-1996" in the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, winner of the Spanish prize "La Revista (el Mundo)," in the field of society and culture. During 1996 I made various journeys to China and the Middle East.

1997/98 scholarship for artist of the German Academic Exchange Association (DAAD). Journeys to the Occupied Territories, South Lebanon, Egypt. 1998 Hansel-Mieth-Prize for the best reportage in 1997/98 in cooperation between a writer and a photographer in German printed media.

1999/2001 working in Northern Ireland, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Israel and the Occupied Territories. Art Directors Club Silver medal for a publication in Stern Magazine.